with all due respect, sab3r, opening up state borders to "increase competition" is not a plan...its an idea with possible merit...but it is no plan. opening up state borders AND taking the power of life and death away from these companies...well, thats a start...i also agree with malpractice suits, they should be regulated in a manner that reduces frivilous lawsuits at the minimum
when i was young, i did medical collections for a business dept that handled 13 hospitals and clinics. there are a ton of loopholes for these companies that allow them to put off or deny payments entirely.
a broken back or neck would bankrupt most lower-middle class self-employed people (even if they had basic insurance) if they had to pay the whole bill. so, many people have to file bankruptcy, which drives up medical costs for everyone. medical costs are absorbed by who? people without insurance or those without hmo's through their 80/20.
hmo and ppo plans "bargain" with doctors, hospitals and clinics. i laugh at "bargain" because these companies are so big that to refuse the "bargain" means to shut out a large part of the customer market. so, you see, the insurance companies that are big enough (with a potential monopoly) dont feel the blow of the unpaid bills of those without insurance. the uninsured pick up the bill, or they go without care.
everyone believes that if you need care for an "emergency" that you must be treated. for the most part this is true. of course, there is loop holes for this too, so the uninsured are given a minimal amount of care and then released. unfortunately, it is much cheaper to treat a major illness early on, instead of waiting until its life or death. so once again, the uninsured drive up costs for everyone.
good family insurance is around 800 a month if you work for a company big enough to get a group discount. if you get your own insurance and you get a good policy, you will pay more. of course, there are bullshit policies that are designed to handle major emergencies only, for a couple hundred a month. i had one for a while when i was a contractor and it didnt cover shit. no prescriptions at all, my exwife at the time had about 400 a month in prescriptions. my current wife would have to pay about 900 a month for prescriptions if it werent for our current insurance. my wife is pregnant right now, we will pay about 335 dollars for the entire pregnancy including dr visits, ultrasounds, lab fees, hospital fees and delivery(unless some major catastrophe should happen along the way). i pay about 190 a month for medical insurance and my company pays the rest, that is with the 48 dollar a month increase that we just got. according to my company, health insurance went up 24% this year (they contribute about 15,000 a year for my policy).
if there's anyone out there who has a family and doesnt have insurance, i sincerely hope the new health care reform will do something to help you. in this age it is absolutely redicules to sit back and say "well, thats the way life goes" when it comes to people dying or living a crappy life due to health issues.
i dont think higher taxes is the cure to this problem. if it was, no one would be messing with anything, they would just be raising taxes. this reform is SUPPOSED to be addressing the underlying flaws in a system that has grown so big and out of control that no one has been able to do anything about it for years.
now, no one agrees on what the problems are. i guarantee you that anyone who receives financial support from insurance companies will tell you right now that regulation is not the answer. they will tell you that insurance companies will go out of business or go bankrupt. they will tell you anything they think will help protect them from these regulations. anything...they will terrorize the elderly, they will imply threats to your freedom, they will talk about the increased taxes and deficit...wouldnt you do the same to protect your bread and butter?
i am for reform for the sake of reform. to take the power of life and death from these companies. to break their strangle hold on dr's and hospitals with the hmo/ppo "bargaining" . i am for reform to decrease bullshit lawsuits and decrease malpractice insurance. i am for completly revamping the welfare system. i am for reform because this is america and the way things work now are beyond redicules.
i am for finding a way for everyone to get health insurance. people with pre-existing conditions, people who cant afford 800+ a month, people who "can" get insurance but roll the dice and let others pay when they crap out.
what i am not for....i am not for immunity for illegal immigrants or for providing them any sort of free health care. i am not for providing free insurance to anyone who can afford their own. i am not for providing so much regulation that insurance companies actually do go out of business. i am not for doctors cheating the medicare/medicaid systems just because they can.
i am for change only because the way things are is not working out for a lot of people. if things arent working out, are we not smart enough to make a change?
Re: And for those of you
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